When people think of beautiful beach time in India the state of Goa is usually what comes to mind, but for those of you who aren’t into walking past daily yoga classes on the beach, fighting for a prime spot to sun tan or witnessing severely overweight and underdressed Russians doing cardio as their naked babies play at their feet, there is an alternative.
Early morning on the beach in Goa during an unusually “slow” high season
Prime tanning time on the Andaman Islands. Where to put my towel?
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are an archipelago west of Burma in the Bay of Bengal and, in our opinion, one of India’s best kept secrets. Prior to its days of colonial rule the islands were home to indigenous tribes. Despite being made up of hundreds of islands, few are inhabited today and mostly by mainland settlers with the exception of the Nicobar Islands in the north which remain off limits to tourists in order to protect the remaining indigenous population. While Steph and I spent a considerable amount of time in the archipelago we only managed to visit Neil and Havelock islands after leaving Port Blair, where all flights arrive. We stayed for almost 2 weeks, but all visitors are issued a special visitor’s permit on arrival at Port Blair that allows a 30 day stay.
If you haven’t heard of the Andaman Islands before, it might be because they have a few things working against them from a tourism perspective. Like the rest of India, most nationalities have to apply for a tourist visa ahead of their trip, which is not an easy process for someone living in an area without a consulate. There are many island destinations that don’t require that kind of paperwork. Second, there are no flights to the Andamans from anywhere but India, so those wanting to go have to be willing to make the already long initial journey to Chennai, Delhi or Kolkata in mainland India and then wait for another connection to Port Blair. Most flights from Delhi and Kolkata also have to stop over in Chennai.
You could opt out of the last flight and take a ferry from Chennai, but keep in mind that the Andaman’s website advertises in big bold letters “If you looking to travel to Port Blair by a ship, here is a clarification – This SHIP is not a cruise liner. It has no entertainment facilities on-board and takes 3-4 days to reach Port Blair.” Hmmm reassuring. Finally, once you leave the town of Port Blair, which is more like a city than a beach town, your ability to go online is limited to satellite internet from a café that doesn’t come cheap and uploading photos is prohibited, so the destination gets less love from instagramers, facebookers and tweeters than other tropical getaways.
Catching a ride on the government run inter island ferry service
These points may seem like negatives, but to Steph and I, it was a recipe for paradise. While we did enjoy Goa, I guess you could say that “our type of people” go to the Andamans. The islands are known for scuba diving and snorkeling and there is something to be said about being immersed in the dive community in a place that people have to work so hard to get to. Divers don’t let their beach time center around raging full moon parties since most are in bed by 10 or 11pm and suiting up around 7am. This might sound lame to some, but partying every night gets old quickly, especially on a long trip. The Andamans is really a place to lose yourself in a novel on the beach to the sound of the hypnotic waves lulling you into a trance as you become one with a coastline that marries turquoise waters, pristine sand, lava rock and magrove trees under the nightly veil of a fiery sunset.
Evenings in Havelock
To be honest, you couldn’t really have a rager in the Andamans even if you wanted to. The islands are home to some of the strangest liquor laws we have ever encountered. Restaurants may have a liquor license one week and then lose it the next only to regain it a month later and lose it again. Everyone will assure you, however, that their restaurant’s license will be approved the week after your intended departure date.
If my description thus far has intrigued you to look further into this remote part of the world, here are a few helpful tips to keep in mind as you plan.
Flights to the Andaman Islands have a luggage restriction of 1 bag of 15kg plus one carry on. If you are planning to include the Andamans into a bigger trip through India, you may want to do it at the beginning of your trip or at least before scheduling a shopping spree, or do what we did and ship stuff home. If you plan to avail of the government helicopter services between Havelock and Port Blair, which I will get into in a later post, you have much more strict weight restrictions and will have to pay for each kilo over 4kg.
Waiting to catch a ride on the government helicopter from Havelock to Port Blair
There are no ATMs on Neil Island and only one on Havelock. The ATM on Havelock can also be out of money for days on end, so we suggest making a pretty big withdrawal before your arrival as a lot of shops do not accept debit or credit cards and those that do will charge you the 3% surcharge. This can add up when you are paying a few hundred dollars for diving.
As I mentioned before, internet is hard to come by and there are only a few cafes on Havelock that offer it and you won’t find any on Neil. Get your online banking done before showing up if your balance is soon due and consider giving those who might be keeping tabs on you a heads up that you will be disconnecting so they don’t report you as a missing person. As someone who was once reported as missing, trust me when I say you will never live it down. You are also not allowed to upload photos on the satellite Internet. While this might sound like a pain it also means that you get to hang out in one of the last destinations on earth where not everyone is staring at their screens instead of enjoying the moment.
This is the photo I would have tweeted if I had been allowed to.
The main attraction of the Andaman Islands is scuba diving and snorkling. While the guidebooks boast it as being spectacular, Steph and I found it a little underwhelming, but between the two of us we have explored many of the world’s top dive sites including the Great Barrier Reef, Sipidan, Southern Thailand, Komodo National Park and Galapagos so it’s getting harder and harder to get our hearts pumping. There were some stunning moments that did make us happy about including diving into our itinerary and it was the best way to make friends on the island. Havelock is where most people head for diving and I would recommend Barefoot and Andaman Bubbles as dive shops in that order.
Diving with schools of barracuda in Havelock with Barefoot Scuba
If you are uptight about where to stay you may want to do some planning in advance. Finding a room on the islands was a little harder than what we experienced in Goa. The resorts are pretty spread out on Neil Island so walking from one to the next to compare prices and rooms can get tiring and we weren’t too happy with what we finally got. The location was nice, but the room sucked. We had to try multiple places in Havelock before we found a vacancy, but we got a good deal on it when we told them we would stay for a week. It was 7 days into our stay before I realized the room had free HBO on the flat screen TV which I had not bothered turning on.
The Rickshaw drivers work on commission so they will be all over you when you arrive in the port. Getting a Rickshaw in Havelock when you don’t have a backpack in tow is much more difficult since they know you’re not looking for accommodations an there is little in it for them. If a Rickshaw driver offers you his number, take it, even if he is just flirting, you may find that it comes in handy when you want to come back from further away spots like Beach 7.
WHERE WE STAYED
Neil Island:
one of the many beaches we accessed by bike on Neil Island
We got the last hut available and it was small and dark with no private bathroom. I would recommend this for one person, but after three days of sharing a double mattress and three feet of floor space for all our stuff we were ready to get out. They have larger huts with ensuite bathrooms so you may want to reserve ahead. Despite our sleeping quarters I would still recommend this place since it was close to a nice beach for swimming, the service was friendly and the food was good when it finally arrived, but more about that later. They also had bikes for rent, which are essential while on Neil Island if you want to see all the beautiful beaches. We paid $12 per night.
Havelock:
As you can tell by the name we were facing the side of the island where the sun rose in the morning. Our delightful Tuk Tuk driver helped us find this place and we made it our home for a week. This was a real find. Because we were staying for such a long amount of time we snagged a large, clean room with ensuite bathroom and view of the beach for $20 a night. The section of beach our resort was on was, in our opinion, one of the best stretches of beach in the area where the resort were located since it had much less coral around it than other locations, which made relaxing in the water easier. If you are booking ahead, make sure you are in one of the actual rooms and not the two story huts, they were not nearly as nice. It takes about 20 minutes to walk to town from here and you are close to the best restaurants on the island.
Hanging out at Sunrise Resort
Barefoot has two dive resorts, one on Beach 7 that is very high end and one on Beach 3 that is more affordable. The Beach 3 dive resort will rent you a small basic hut for $6 if you sign up for diving. They are nothing fancy and I would not share one with someone I did not want to spoon, but they were a good deal and the atmosphere of the resort was very friendly. It was a great place to socialize with other travelers and a much cheaper alternative for me than Sunrise when Steph had to leave Havelock a few days before I did and I had to pay the full cost of a room.
Barefoot also has gigantic fixed tents which a friend of mine stayed in. They were about the size of Rob Stark’s war tent in Game of Thrones. These run for about $80 a night according to their website and even have hot showers. If you have been to India you will know that finding out you have a hot shower that works is just as exciting as finding out that George Clooney comes with your room. If you are looking to spring for something nice while on the island this would be my top pick.
The fixed tents at Barefoot
Interior of the multi roomed fixed tent
WHERE TO EAT IN HAVELOCK
The German Bakery is located just a few steps from Sunrise Resort. Walk past the bakery stand to the restaurant behind it and gorge yourself on some of the best Palak Paneer you will have during your trip.
Anjou Coco is another place to definitely check out in Havelock, just adjacent to The German Bakery. While they had good Indian food on the menu, this was my favourite place to indulge in some western favourites that I had been craving by the end of our long stretch in India.
Cicada
Cicada Bar and Grill is only open for 3 days a week and each night has a different theme. It might be 90s dance party, it might be open mic or it could be a photo exhibit dome by a fellow backpacker. This is the most social place in Havelock and well worth going to. The food is also amazing.
Dinner with friends at Anjou Coco
For more information on planning your trip visit http://www.go2andaman.com